a few people told me that the albanians run the show around a lot of areas now like in europe

Selwyn Raab really nails Gotti's 2 sides in "Five Families." He writes how Gotti would throw parties for the neighborhood and was well loved by everyone, and then transcribes a phone call between him and an associate where he threatens to blow the guy's house up and kill him.

They definitely run the restaurants...

ha ha that a pretty big racket lol

Lol maybe those old Italian men and the ppl I saw in the Bronx came there JUST FOR ME
Out here in California there are no real Italians unless they are transplants from the east coast

All kidding aside, but you'd be shocked at how many Albanians pass themselves off as Italian. It's possible that you saw some of them. And don't feel bad, they fool me all the time. And like I said, I'm here all my life.

I posted about this fairly recently. But they're almost all from Montenegro, which is just on the other side of the Adriatic. They speak better Italian than anyone born here, and some of them even look Italian. When you throw in the fact that they settled in all of the Bronx neighborhoods that the Italians left behind, and that they own something like 75 percent of the pizzerias in New York City, it's actually very understandable.

They've done very well for themselves. It's estimated that Albanian Americans own over thirty percent of the apartment buildings here in the Bronx.

You should be happy with the ones from Montenegro. Over here we've got the Kosovo-variant of Albanians and some of them are batshit crazy if you don't know them

Thanks pizzaboy for the kind words...I don't feel so dupid now.

Back to nice gestures from wiseguys-
The wiseguys were nice to my great grandpa.
They wanted to put a phone booth in his deli/restaurant but he told them NO cuz he had 4 daughters and didn't want "those type of men" congregating in his place making bets around his daughters. They respected his wishes and went to the next store.

Generally speaking Islamic Albanians are worse than christian ones.
Same with the Lebanese.

Read of that what you will.

Read what? It's the fucking truth .

Every time I read or hear anything about Albanians all I can picture is wiseguys on one side n Albanians on the other in the middle of the day at a Jersey rest stop. I think it was the Gambino crew and the Albanians almost had a big blowout.
I can't remember where I read that but the Gambino's had a beef with them over territory and were trying to settle it. I don't know how true it is.

There was a mafia hitman, that did kid parties dressed as a clown even into his old age, I forget the guys name or to which family he belonged to.

It was blown way out of proportion. That whole crew of Albanians fell apart with one indictment, which is very telling.

But for the most part, they get along pretty well with the Italians here. In the Bronx, anyway.

You're welcome, Chickie .


Things were different back then, Alfano. It can be said that some of the Italian American men of that generation turned to crime because doors were closed to them. And not to be an apologist, but it was true to a certain extent at that time. That's why they were more likely to look out for their neighbors back then. They were in crime out of necessity, not always by choice, so they were often kind to the people in the neighborhood. But anyone who uses that "doors are closed" excuse today is full of shit. If you join the mob today it's because you're criminal minded and lazy.

Italian Americans have produced more college graduates in this country than any other European immigrant group, save for the Jews. But keep in mind that the Jews came from more than one place (Poland, Russia, Hungary, etc.). So if you're born after, say, 1960, and you're still talking out of the side of your mouth, and saying thing like "I had no choice," and "they're only going after me because I'm Italian," you need to have your head examined.

I imagine that the majority of those neighborhoods were a lot safer back in those days, pb. There's a lot to be said about the old guys from old school ways.

Neighborhoods were a lot safer from outside interference, but were victimized to some degree from the local Italian gangsters, but not like it was when the 70's rolled around. A majority of those before the 1960's had a certain code of honor, that they left certain people alone who were actually helping out their nieghborhoods or other Italians in need. But a majority of shop owners in the Italian neighborhoods pay some sort of protection to the local crime group.

Supposedly they buy a lot of the apartment buildings not a lot of people really want to deal with.(Albanians).

It was Squitieri and alex rudaj who had the beef and the meeting at the gas station in jersey

Yeah, that's about it.

I have no illusions about these guys ever being Robin Hood. I grew up with with a front row seat to their bullshit, and little by little I saw every myth ever propagated about them being Robin Hood ripped apart.

But the older guys WERE different. And I don't necessarily mean the guys my father's age (he's in his 80's now). Because some of them were greedy pigs. I'm talking about the guys who would be a hundred today. These guys were old men when I was growing up, and I'm almost 55.

There was more of a duality to them. A lot of them ended up in the life by accident or by necessity. Most of the guys who I grew up with who ended up in the life lacked that duality. They became criminals not out of necessity, but by choice. Big difference.

True, but they still own 30 percent of the buildings in the Bronx. And if you break it down to the Pelham Parkway area, it's more like forty percent.

And I see that you're from Yonkers. They own a lot of the buildings that straddle Woodlawn, on the Bronx-Yonkers line. Still a very Irish neighborhood, but the apartment buidings around Katonah are partially owned by the Albanians.

Oh yea I didn't know that. The best thing for the wiseguys to do is KEEP THEIR SONS IN COLLEGE don't let them follow in their daddy's line of work.

OOOOO I really botched that last reply up. I'm still learning my way around this site. oops

That's okay. I was able to decipher it .

K good

Is this topic a joke? None of them were "nice" guys.

Sure a lot of them had families they were close to.

But that doesn't mean that they didn't separate their family life from their work life.

Even people who were involved in mafia activities such as bootlegging, illegal gambling/numbers games/betting, etc. were not always nice when they were at work or having to deal with people who they would see as customers at work who made them angry.

There were never days of "Loyalty, honor, respect, etc." they would kill each other or attempt to, rip each other off, break the rules or think the so called rules didn't apply to them, etc.

Can you imagine if they had had snuggies before? I can just picture Galante curling up on home on the couch after a long day of peddling smack and just relaxing with some tv and pint of ice cream

Good point. I knew a few as well who were more earners but if cornered, they wouldn't hesitate. I'm sure Tommy Gambino was overall a pretty nice, clean cut guy...but all he had to do was say the word.

Roy DeMeo was loved around his neighborhood. He would have insane firework shows on 4th of July, was quick to help/offer neighbors with yard work, etc. He even personally drove a neighborhood kid, who was hit by car, to the hospital. And according to his wife was "shaken" because the kid was his sons age. Even one of his neighborhood friends, helped Al get a job on Wall street out of friendship with Roy, when Al was all grown up.

Seemed like a real nice guy, outside of clipping a couple hundred people, and scamming countless others.

That's the definition of a sociopath.

i thought that you had to be a stone cold arch criminal to even join the mafia?

dishonest 24/7 but a nice guy....i don't know that's a tough one

in the history of the mafia i'm sure there were some nice guys but not mqny